Getting Lost
by blankdreamer-13
Summary: Losing their way while travelling to a Fire Nation village, Aang notices something bothering Toph...


A/N: Another random oneshot. I was really wondering whether I should post this or not. Oh well, go ahead and read XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the characters

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**Getting Lost**

A peaceful calm had settled in the deep mountain forest. Only a few sounds could be heard, the soft rippling of the creek's waters, the songs of a couple of birds singing to each other, the rustle of leaves by the blowing wind. It was the epitome of tranquility. At least until a loud shriek shattered it.

"We're lost?! Whaddaya mean we're lost?!"

A young blind girl stood above a bald monk. The situation would seem quite strange to anyone who didn't know them, seeing a seemingly fragile girl pushing around a boy a bit bigger than herself. But otherwise, it would just be another everyday occurrence.

It was supposed to have been simple. Since the end of the war, Aang travelled the whole world, to the towns and major cities, to check up on how things were going. It was his job after all to keep the balance. And every now and then, he was lucky to have some of the gaang with him in these travels. Just now, they were travelling the Fire Nation with Zuko. Since Aang had to visit a nearby town and Zuko had to get back to the palace for an emergency, he had lent Appa to him, leaving him and Toph to walk the rest of the way. Leading them to their current situation.

"I mean just that, we're lost," Aang responded calmly. Years of bickering with Toph had made him much more experienced in how to deal with her. It was quite a valuable skill, saving a decent number of people from getting burried in one of her rockalanches.

"I can't believe it! You said that you knew exactly where we were going! Argh!"

Aang couldn't help but snigger at how Toph was reacting to the situation. He never knew she could be so hysterical. She suddenly steeped in front of him and crossed her arms, glaring at him with her sightless eyes.

"So?"

"So what? There's nothing more to say other than that."

"How do you plan on getting us un-lost?!" she shrieked.

"Okay, okay." He could sense that if he didn't do anything soon, he would find himself buried fifty feet underground. "I'll fly up and see if I can find where we are."

"No- wait!"

Aang stopped from opening up his glider and raised an eyebrow at her. Something didn't sound right just now...

Toph seemed to realize how she had sounded and quickly tried to cover it up. "I mean, knowing you, you'd spend hours up there enjoying yourself. Let's just keep following the path."

"Well, okay... if you say so..." Aang could tell something was wrong with her. It almost seemed like she was... panicked.

They walked together in silence, which worried Aang even more. Toph always managed a crack at anyone or anything anytime she wanted. So it was downright unusual for her to be so quiet. Normally, he probably would have thought of it as a nice change, but it felt so foreign, so uncomfortable. After fifteen minutes of walking in silence, Aang couldn't take it anymore.

"Toph, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Twinkle toes." Well, she's at the very least still stubborn, a good sign.

"Okay, if you're gonna be like that..." The swooshing sound of his glider was heard as the monk disappeared from Toph's 'sight'.

"Twinkle toes?! Where are you?!" She whirled in every direction, hoping it would help her catch a glimpse of Aang's vibrations. Nothing. "Twinkles?! Aang?!"

A pair of arms circled around her waist from behind. "I'm right here, Toph," he whispered into her ear. "C'mon, did you ever think I would leave you?"

Toph visibly relaxed at Aang's presence. Her panicky shallow breaths became deeper and more even as she closed her eyes and calmed herself.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open. She elbowed Aang in the gut, took a step away from him and punched him hard on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. She couldn't believe how soft she had gotten.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

Despite the beating Aang had received, he couldn't help but smile. It looked like she was pretty much back to her usual self. He tried picking himself up from the ground but decided to settle resting on all fours. Those hits had hurt.

"Which part? Disappearing? Or hugging?"

"Disappearing! I-I mean hugging! No, I mean both!" she responded, completely flustered.

Aang knew he was in no position to laugh but he couldn't help but do so. "Take it easy, Toph. C'mon, we should keep going."

After walking a few minutes, Aang asked, "Toph? Why are you scared of getting lost?"

He saw hew eyes widen before she answered, "I'm not scared of such a stupid thing."

"Do you want me to disappear again?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, okay," she answered quickly. "It's just that... whenever I get lost, that's one of the times when I feel truly blind..."

She took in a deep breath and continued. "Being able to see like I see, I could always sense something familiar, I was never lost. Sure, I liked to go exploring, but for me, that only meant expanding the territory I was familiar with.

"But earlier, there was nothing familiar, and even worse, I didn't know which way to go. Then when you left... I was completely lost."

Aang remained silent a moment. The atmosphere around them wasn't tense like he thought it would be. It was actually... relaxed, gentle even.

"Did you know back at the Southern Air Temple, I was notorious for getting lost in the nearby forest?" he said suddenly.

"But you're an airbender," she replied, confused. "Couldn't you just fly up and look where you are?"

"The thing is," he answered. "I liked getting lost."

"What? Hang on," She suddenly grabbed him roughly by the collar. "You didn't get us lost on purpose did you?!"

"No." She let go, sensing sincerity. "But I don't regret it," he finished.

"Argh! You're so frustrating!"

Aang laughed. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. For me, getting lost was fun. I found so many new places that I never thought could be in that forest."

"Exploring does that, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but like you said, there's always someplace familiar when you explore, you know at least one direction will take you back. But when you're lost, everywhere is an adventure! And each direction will always lead to something new."

"That sounds so weird."

"Well, it's true isn't it? Didn't you experience something new while we were lost?" he teased, dancing along the path ahead.

Toph flushed a deep red at what he was insinuating. But still, she consented to agree with him. Not out loud though.

"Toph!" Aang called from out front. "Come here!"

"What is it?" she asked when she caught up.

"Do you see it?"

She gave him another good punch. "Oh yeah, I totally see it. Guess what? I'm _blind_ Twinkle toes."

"Sense, I meant to say sense. I can't see it either actually, I had to feel its vibrations."

Toph gave the ground a hard stomp and her eyes widened in shock. They were standing on a solid rocky cliff, allowing her sight to stretch out much more than usual. She saw that the town they were looking for was a few more miles along the path they were travelling. But what had surprised her was that below the cliff, under the plains were crisscrossing tunnels going as far as a hundred feet under the earth, leading to a large underground village.

"Before the war, there used to be a few settlements scattered around the different countries." Aang explained. "This must have been an abandoned Earth Kingdom settlement."

When his companion didn't say anything at all, Aang glanced at her. On her face was a gentle smile, absorbing every detail she could of the underground settlement. He smiled, seeing Toph like that. Maybe now she understood more of how he felt about getting lost.

"So..." Aang started. "Wanna try getting lost in there?"

She crossed her arms and faced at him. "You know that now that I've sensed every inch of it, I can't get lost in there."

A playful smirk played on Toph's lips before she continued, "Whatever, screw the details! Race ya!" She was off without another word, followed closely by Aang, their childish laughter sparkling in the air.

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A/N: Not sure if I really like this one. Based on what I like to do, which is getting lost. The idea sounded a lot better in my head. Oh well, gave me another chance to put Aang and Toph in another situation. Dunno if Toph is OOC or what, I know she isn't the panicky type, but I figured if she suddenly got stranded alone somewhere, she might. Anyway, please review!


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